Stay in the Makati area. Business district. Very safe.
Matamuros - Colonial town with some impressive churches.
Quiapa Church - Stay away! Horrible area & not much to see.
Green Belt Mall in Makati area. Huge mall with great shopping & restaurants.
Inexpensive souvenirs can be found in the SM Makati Mall in a store called Kultura.
Palawan Island
Puerto Princesa
Not a lot to do here except for a couple of tours.
Honda Bay island hopping. Day trip. Good snorkeling, nice beaches, & very inexpensive massages.
Hotels: Matutina Pension - Clean, safe, & cheap. Not a great location, but taxis are plentiful. No hot water & the people here have zero recommendations on things to do.
Sabang
Underground river tour. Interesting to do, but definitely overhyped. I (Katz) recommend staying in town for a day or two. Nice beach. If you do the underground river tour from Puerto Princesa it is a two-hour drive each way.
El Nido
The place to be in Palawan. Not a great beach here, but the island hopping tours are excellent. No electricity in El Nido (except generators) 6:00 am - 2:00 pm.
Hotels: A Place To Remember - Clean & well maintained. Built in December 2010. Air conditioning, wireless internet, & hot showers. Great location!! No TV. Rooms are small. Breakfast included. (Katz family stayed here Dec. 2011)
Tours:
Most places do the same island-hopping tours (A, B, & C) Art Cafe is reliable, but I (Katz) recommend going across the street to Pura Vida Hotel and talking to Wolfgang. He set up a tour for us that was what we wanted, not a package deal. Better food than Art Cafe, and snorkeling gear was included in price and in better condition.
Restaurants: Art Cafe is a bit expensive for the area, but the food is good & it is a great place to hang out. Blue Azul - Excellent hummus & falafel. Breakfast was very greasy. Inexpensive.
Siargao Island
Siargao is a very unknown island unless you are part of the surf community. This is THE surf destination in the Philippines and home to the famous Cloud 9 surf site. The island only has 2 flights in and out a week through Cebu (Cebu Pacific Air) or 1 ferry a day from Surigao city. The island is VERY undeveloped and not the place to go for shopping and city but if you are looking for a relaxing, chill, hang out on the beach and participate in water sports type of vacation then this is the place to go.
Place to Stay: Patrick's on the Beach - clean but very rustic cabanas overlooking the beach. Air conditioning, wireless (slow) internet, warm showers. Great location!!! Great food on-site with a wide variety including vegetarian options and custom made meals, no need to ever leave Patricks if you don't want to. All tours can be arranged directly through Patrick's including surfing trips with or without instructors, deep sea fishing, scuba, snorkeling, island tours, kayaking through the mangroves, etc. If you are staying at Patrick's they will often charge you less for the tours than listed on the prices on the net. The manager Ryan is awesome and will customize anything to meet your needs. Entire 8 day stay including all food/drink, tours, transport (excluding plane tickets) for 3 people was a little over $1000 and we were very active every day. (Page family stayed her Dec. 2011)
Table of Contents
Manila
Stay in the Makati area. Business district. Very safe.Matamuros - Colonial town with some impressive churches.
Quiapa Church - Stay away! Horrible area & not much to see.
Green Belt Mall in Makati area. Huge mall with great shopping & restaurants.
Inexpensive souvenirs can be found in the SM Makati Mall in a store called Kultura.
Palawan Island
Puerto Princesa
Not a lot to do here except for a couple of tours.Honda Bay island hopping. Day trip. Good snorkeling, nice beaches, & very inexpensive massages.
Hotels:
Matutina Pension - Clean, safe, & cheap. Not a great location, but taxis are plentiful. No hot water & the people here have zero recommendations on things to do.
Sabang
Underground river tour. Interesting to do, but definitely overhyped. I (Katz) recommend staying in town for a day or two. Nice beach. If you do the underground river tour from Puerto Princesa it is a two-hour drive each way.El Nido
The place to be in Palawan. Not a great beach here, but the island hopping tours are excellent. No electricity in El Nido (except generators) 6:00 am - 2:00 pm.Hotels:
A Place To Remember - Clean & well maintained. Built in December 2010. Air conditioning, wireless internet, & hot showers. Great location!! No TV. Rooms are small. Breakfast included. (Katz family stayed here Dec. 2011)
Tours:
Most places do the same island-hopping tours (A, B, & C) Art Cafe is reliable, but I (Katz) recommend going across the street to Pura Vida Hotel and talking to Wolfgang. He set up a tour for us that was what we wanted, not a package deal. Better food than Art Cafe, and snorkeling gear was included in price and in better condition.
Restaurants:
Art Cafe is a bit expensive for the area, but the food is good & it is a great place to hang out.
Blue Azul - Excellent hummus & falafel. Breakfast was very greasy. Inexpensive.
Siargao Island
Siargao is a very unknown island unless you are part of the surf community. This is THE surf destination in the Philippines and home to the famous Cloud 9 surf site. The island only has 2 flights in and out a week through Cebu (Cebu Pacific Air) or 1 ferry a day from Surigao city. The island is VERY undeveloped and not the place to go for shopping and city but if you are looking for a relaxing, chill, hang out on the beach and participate in water sports type of vacation then this is the place to go.Place to Stay:
Patrick's on the Beach - clean but very rustic cabanas overlooking the beach. Air conditioning, wireless (slow) internet, warm showers. Great location!!! Great food on-site with a wide variety including vegetarian options and custom made meals, no need to ever leave Patricks if you don't want to. All tours can be arranged directly through Patrick's including surfing trips with or without instructors, deep sea fishing, scuba, snorkeling, island tours, kayaking through the mangroves, etc. If you are staying at Patrick's they will often charge you less for the tours than listed on the prices on the net. The manager Ryan is awesome and will customize anything to meet your needs. Entire 8 day stay including all food/drink, tours, transport (excluding plane tickets) for 3 people was a little over $1000 and we were very active every day. (Page family stayed her Dec. 2011)